Boeing Gains On New Orders, Battery Reassurances

By Teresa Rivas

Shares of Boeing (BA) were rising 1.6% in early trading on news of new orders and upbeat comments from management about the company’s beleaguered batteries.

The aircraft leasing and financing unit of General Electric (GE) said that it inked an order for 10 787-10X Dreamliners. In a joint statement, GECAS and Boeing said that the two firms will firm up the commitment in the coming weeks to finalize the order.

Qatar Airways also announced that it has ordered up to nine additional Boeing 777-300ER long-range jets as part of the airline’s expansion plans. Two of the jets are firm orders, with seven options that provide flexible delivery dates, although management sounded a positive note that the latter will be filled.

In addition, CEO James McNerney says he is “highly confident” that problems related to its Dreamliner’s lithium-ion batteries have been resolved. “We have a very robust fix and a next-battery-generation system that I think is going to serve this airplane well for the future,” he said on CNBC this morning.

The Federal Aviation Administration had been looking into the batteries after two on-board fires in Boeing planes.

Last week J.P. Morganhighlighted Boeing in a review of aerospace stocks, hypothesizing that the shares could have 30% upside.

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